The Red Key
by thatanonyouthoughtwasmanyanons
Summary: Rumor has it that it vanished years ago. But a group from the original Red Kingdom shows up, looking to reclaim what is theirs. Saruhiko, a simple knight in the Blue Kingdom, runs into an interesting gypsy clothed in red with fiery eyes. Will he follow the rules of a king he supposedly has never met? Or will he trust this wandering nomad and help him? AU.
1. The Market

Saruhiko sighed in frustration.

Every time Sceptar 4 ran out of supplies, he was always the one to go out into the village market and get more. It wasn't like there were others to do it, _no_, it had to be _him_. Despite the fact they had servants for tasks just like this. Reisi always told him it was because he had probably done something to warrant the terrible trip, but Saruhiko had a sneaking suspicion that he just liked making the troublesome knight miserable. He smirked way to much for it to be any other thing.

But Reisi was his superior and he was forced to listen to the bastard. So he snatched the list out of the Head Knight's fingers and dressed in his "commoner clothes". If he wore his knight uniform, people would most likely either be terrified of him or would avoid him like the plague was back in town. While he normally relished in their fear, today he just wasn't in the mood.

So he donned his blue cloth top with gold trim- slightly extravagant, but only enough to let them know he had wealth and power so they wouldn't disrespect him- and black trousers and boots and made his way towards the village.

The castle slowly disappeared from his view as he got closer to the market. As he predicted, people made it a point to try and not bump into him, and the few who did apologized profusely. He just ignored them and ventured further into the crowd.

The castle had a stockpile of supplies, but Reisi had somewhat of an obsession with commoner things. He said the food was healthier than the slop they shipped in for the rest of the castle's occupants and that there was much to learn from the villagers. The others under his command simply nodded and turned their backs before commenting on how he was insane.

Saruhiko had to admit, although begrudgingly, that the food _did_ taste better when it came from the market. But he said nothing to the Head Knight, of course.

He hastily gathered up the fruits and vegetables from stands, throwing the gold coins on the counter before moving on to another stand. Bread was collected and he had a short argument about the price of some of the spices he needed, but eventually just rolled his eyes and practically took the man's head off with how hard he threw the coins at him. Garlic in his basket and thoroughly annoyed, he headed to the center plaza. On the other side was the meat and fish, but Saruhiko found himself stopping as he looked at the solid wall of people there. They were looking at the stage in the middle of the square, which usually held some sort of band playing amateur but lively music. Instead, however, Saruhiko found himself freezing at the sight on the wooden platform.

It was a gypsy. They weren't too uncommon, but they normally kept to the alleys and shadows- never had anyone other than the band members or official people from the castle stood on that stage. Yet here the gypsy was, standing center of attention and seeming to revel in it.

Saruhiko found himself breathless at the beauty of the male nomad. His tan torso was bare other than an open red vest. He could see a faint henna tattoo over his heart, slightly covered by the vest. Gold bracelets jangled on his left wrist, matching the gold embroidery on his vest. He had loose red pants that hung low on his hips, which held multiple gold belts that jingled when he moved. He was barefoot, and had one single gold anklet.

He blinked and looked at the gypsy's face. He had a broad smile on his face, gazing into the crowd with no sign of fear on his face- despite the cruel muttering of the villagers. The gypsy had shocking amber eyes and red, unkempt hair that hung to his shoulders. There was a single ear pierced with a hooped golden earring, beautifully complementing his tanned skin.

Saruhiko sucked in a breath when those captivating eyes locked on him. The gypsy looked shocked, as if he had never seen a noble at the market before, but he then smirked and jutted his chin out.

"Get out of here!" a man screeched from the crowd. "Your kind isn't welcome here!"

"Well isn't that just rude?" the wanderer asked in a smooth voice. "I haven't done anything."

"Your kind is nothing but thieves!" a woman shouted.

"Me?" the man asked in fake disbelief, hand over his chest and a pout on his face. "I would never steal."

"Liar!"

There were a few other outbursts, but the gypsy took them all in stride, effectively evading and brushing off insults. Saruhiko found himself snorting in amusement as each word rolled off the redhead's tongue.

"Hey, I know you! You're from Homra!"

The gypsy suddenly stiffened, but never let the easy-going grin slide from his face. "Well, looks like that's my queue to leave!"

With a graceful backflip, the man suddenly dropped through a hole in the stage. A few men ran up there and looking into the hole, but from their confused faces Saruhiko guessed that the gypsy had disappeared.

Saruhiko snorted and continued on his way, shaking the amber eyes out of his mind. He had meat to buy, plus if he wasn't back at the castle before sunset, the Head Knight would be annoyed. They need the supplies to prepare dinner, and the guards who had night shifts would be incredibly angry with him.

So he bought the rest of the items on the list and started making his way back to the castle, wondering what Homra was and who the gypsy was. In order for him to get back faster, he cut through a few alleys and was only about five minutes from the castle gates when a throat was cleared behind him.

"Nice to see a noble come out to play with the commoners."

Saruhiko turned easily and smiled at the gypsy, who was standing about five feet from him. "Just needed to buy some things!" he chirped. "Help the economy, you know."

The gypsy scowled and crossed his arms, acting completely different from when he was on stage. "You people are nothing but crooks who steal from those who have nothing to give."

"Isn't that what you supposedly do?" he said simply.

This only seemed to ignite the other's temper, because the scowl deepened and his fists clenched. "You think I control the stereotypes about my people?"

"You think I do?"

The redhead seemed to calm down at that slightly, though grudgingly. "Fine. I guess you're right."

"What's your name?" Saruhiko asked suddenly.

"My name?" the nomad seemed surprised. "Why?"

"Well, we seem to be having a lovely conversation. Just thought it would be nice to ask," he shrugged.

The nomad blushed faintly, making the knight smirk. "Misaki."

"No last name?"

"I'm a gypsy, what do you expect?" the smaller male smirked. "What about you?"

"Fushimi Saruhiko, at your service," he said, bowing mockingly.

"You're a piece of work," Misaki laughed, gracefully approaching the knight. He inched his way closer and the knight just rose a brow.

"You have no idea, Mi-sa-ki~"

The redhead just smiled sweetly, laid a hand on his chest, and whispered in his ear. "Hopefully I can see you again and find out."

The pressure was gone and so was the gypsy, because when Saruhiko turned around, Misaki had disappeared like he had on stage. Saruhiko blinked and smirked, adjusting his grip on the basket and continuing back to the castle as though nothing had happened. He would have to come out to the village more often.

It wasn't until he was handing his things to Reisi when he realized that the vast majority of his remaining gold coins were gone, along with an apple. He got an earful from Reisi for misplacing his things.

As he walked down the street, Misaki smiled and bit into an apple, tossing the gold coins in the air.


	2. Homra

"What is Homra?"

All chatter ceased at the table, everyone turning their gazes to look at Saruhiko. His head was lazily resting on the palm of his hand, the other twirling a knife.

Half of the table was leaning forward curiously, having never heard of this "Homra" thing the knight had spoken of. The other half, however, knew what Homra was and was worrying and fidgeting.

Reisi calmly put down his fork, folding his hands in his lap. "Why do you ask?"

Saruhiko shrugged. "Heard some of the villagers talking about it." Well, he wasn't lying.

"Homra is a group of gypsy thieves that travel around the kingdoms," Seri explained when the Head Knight just smirked. "The rumors say they're searching for one of the Seven Keys that was taken from them. But I don't think they would have ever had possession of a Key in the first place."

Saruhiko blinked. He wasn't really expecting that. The Keys were the symbol of absolute power, and only those of noble blood could possess it. There were only six kingdoms, since the Red Key had vanished mysteriously several years ago. If they were truly looking for the last Key, they had their work cut out for them.

"What brought this up?" Reisi asked.

Saruhiko glanced down. "No reason. Just that the villagers seemed pretty upset when it was mentioned."

"With good reason," the Head Knight said with a smile. "Homra is responsible for _many_ things going missing." With that, he rose from his chair and exited the dining hall.

Saruhiko blinked. The way his leader worded that...

There was something he wasn't telling them.

"I'd stay away from any Homra member you come across," Seri warned him. "They practice dark magic."

There was an explosion of murmuring at the table. Saruhiko's expression didn't change. "Interesting..."

"I'm home!"

Misaki grinned broadly as the others greeted him. He stretched his arms out and yawned, then asked, "What's for dinner?"

"Depends," Kusanagi smiled. "What did you bring back?"

"Didn't snag any food, but I got this," Misaki smirked, showing them the large handful of gold coins he had taken from Saruhiko.

"Woah!" Kamamoto gaped. "Did you steal from _that_ many villagers?"

"Nope," the gypsy grinned. "There was a noble at the market. I know, weird. Met up with him in an alley where he was kind enough to let me 'borrow' the money."

The others snickered. Bandou, Eric, and Kosuke took some of the coins to go get the clan some food while Misaki handed the rest of it to Kusanagi. The blonde tucked it under the counter of an old bar they were shacked up in.

"Good work, Misaki."

Misaki perked up and turned, smiling proudly as Mikoto entered the main room. "Sure thing, King!"

Mikoto's frown deepened. "Did you accomplish the real objective."

Misaki scoffed. "Yeah. They recognized me. Word should travel throughout the Blue Kingdom in no time that Homra's in town!"

"Did you happen to see the Blue King while you were there?" Kusanagi asked curiously.

Misaki rolled his eyes. "Please, I wouldn't even know what to look for. He hasn't been seen by anyone since he was my age."

Mikoto hummed in agreement, going to sit at the bar by Anna, who had been sitting there quietly since the redhead had gotten back.

Misaki joined him, eyes shining enthusiastically. "Do you think this is it? Do you think we've finally found where it's at?"

Mikoto said nothing, but turned to Anna. He nodded at her.

Anna's marbles appeared out of thin air. Kusanagi grabbed an old map and set it in front of her. She put them on the map and mumbled a few words, causing the marbles to start spinning in circles around the Blue Kingdom. They all waited patiently as she concentrated, and finally the marbles conjoined in a tight circle on the map. She pointed a delicate finger at the position where the marbles had gathered. "Here."

Misaki cheered, Kusanagi grinned, and Mikoto smiled.

The Red Key was in the Blue Castle.

"We found it!" Misaki shouted. "Finally!"

Kusanagi glanced at the Red King. "It's going to be difficult to get it back."

Mikoto let out a huff. "We will manage." He turned to Misaki. "Think you can gather up some information?"

Misaki turned in a flourish of fabric. "I know just who to ask!" He laughed as he ran out the door, heading back towards the market.


	3. Meeting in the Alley

Misaki spread his arms and breathed deeply. The sun was just setting, and most people were gone. He walked along the cobblestone path with a carefree grin on his face. He knew he should collect information, but a young noble had caught his attention and he'd be damned if he had to get the info somewhere else. He had no idea where to find Saruhiko, but he allowed his feet to carry him in a random direction- nomads trusted their instincts to guide them on the right path.

The summer air was warm, even though it was night. Misaki avoided all who crossed his path, purely for the fun of seeing them trying to figure out what the jingling noise was. When he wasn't paying attention, however, he almost crashed head-long into a small child, who looked up at him in wonder. Misaki felt his smile soften. It wasn't often that he was looked at in awe, or even kindness, and it was refreshing.

He kneeled down to the young boy's level, patting his head. He took off one of his many gold bangles, handing it to the kid. The small child's eyes widened as he clutched the gold, shyly looking up at the redhead. "Th-Thank you, Mr. Gypsy!"

Misaki couldn't help but chuckle. "Sure thing, kid. Just don't tell your parents," he said with a wink.

The boy nodded enthusiastically before waving and running off. Misaki watched him go wistfully.

"That was awfully nice of you, Mi-sa-ki~"

Misaki turned to look at the knight, similar to their first encounter in the alley. "Didn't expect to see you again so soon."

Saruhiko grinned. "What can I say? I just couldn't stay away. Especially from the one who took my money."

"Thank you for that, by the way," the gypsy smirked. "My clan ate very well, I'd imagine."

"Ah, Homra, right?"

Misaki stiffened, looking down at the street. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"I think I know EXACTLY what I'm talking about," Saruhiko said, smile never slipping from his face as he got closer to the redhead. "A bunch of gypsies on a mission for the missing Key and dabbling in _black magic_, right?"

Misaki's eyes widened and his fists clenched. The knight was a little off-put when they burst into dark pink flames. He grabbed the hilt of his sword nervously.

"How do you know that?"

"I like to do my research. I have very powerful friends, you know, and they'd _love_ to talk to you."

"So what, you're here to take me to them?" Misaki mocked. "You might find yourself bargaining for more than you can handle."

"How about we barter then?" Saruhiko asked. "I want information. About the Red Kingdom, about Homra, about anything. I can make it worth your while."

"I don't want your money," Misaki said, brushing off the muttered 'you could have fooled me'. "I want information, too."

Saruhiko smiled. "Looks like we're in business, then!"

Misaki allowed his flames to die down. Saruhiko took quick notice and relaxed, raising his hand from his sword to rest it on his hip.

"So about the Red Kingdom..."

Misaki sighed and leaned against the wall of the alley. "It was a great place. Full of nice people who always helped each other. I was only a little kid when _they_ invaded. No one knew who they were, and no one knew what to do. It all happened so quickly."

He squeezed his eyes shut and grit his teeth. "We had an amazing king, and an even more amazing prince and princess. But the attack on the tower was too much. The enemy managed to get in. And to save his baby sister, the prince... Totsuka... He died."

He blinked back tears, looking away from Saruhiko's emotionless face. He was glad the other wasn't pitying him- he didn't need or want it. "The king managed to grab the princess and get away, but it was too late. The army had set fire to the village and was tearing down the castle. Only a couple dozen people from the Red Kingdom survived."

Saruhiko looked shocked. "Surely, this would have been written somewhere, or someone would have helped. It would be more common knowledge if an entire civilization was wiped out!"

"We're gypsies," Misaki spat. "No one cares."

They stood in silence for a while before Misaki cleared his throat.

"My turn. So what's the deal with your king? Why does he stay locked up in that castle?"

Saruhiko rolled his eyes. "Beats me. I wouldn't know; I may be in the Royal Guard, but I've never seen him before."

"You're in the Royal Guard?" Misaki yelped, tensing instantly.

Saruhiko chuckled. "Relax. If I was going to arrest you, I would have by now. I'm just here to chat."

The redhead willed himself to relax. His king needed this information, and he wasn't going to let Mikoto down.

Saruhiko suddenly reached out his hand. Misaki sucked in a breath, forcing himself to remain slack. The knight's hand brushed over his Homra tattoo, pushing his vest to the side. The gypsy's heart sped up unwillingly, seeming to amuse Saruhiko when he felt it. The knight just continued to trace the dark henna marking.

"Nice tattoo. Does it have anything to do with those flames you... conjoured?"

Misaki covered Saruhiko's fingers with his own. "It's the mark of Homra. It symbolizes our pride."

"You're proud of being a gypsy?" Saruhiko asked curiously- not unkindly, like others had.

Misaki laughed breathlessly. "Of course. I couldn't ask for anything more."

"You're a piece of work," Saruhiko smirked, repeating what Misaki had said to him earlier.

The nomad smiled good-naturedly. They remained like that for a while, Saruhiko's hand covering Misaki's chest and the redhead's hand covering the knight's. Misaki knew that he needed to ask the other more questions, but he was at a loss of what to say. He was gazing into the other's azure eyes.

Saruhiko's mind was comfortably blank. He couldn't think of anything else he wanted to know at the moment. All he wanted to do was stare at the half-dressed gypsy with gold eyes.

Unfortunately, Misaki broke their contact by turning away. He wanted to stay in the noble's presence, but he knew the Red King was waiting for him to return. "Well, it's about time for me to go."

"Wait!" Misaki turned, seeing Saruhiko's face twisting in an unrecognizable emotion. "Can I see you again?"

Misaki's eyebrows shot up. "Me? Why?"

Saruhiko didn't know what to say, but blurted out, "I have more questions for you."

The nomad's mouth twitched in amusement, as if he saw through the other's statement. "Sure. Same place, same time tomorrow?"

Saruhiko sighed and smiled. "Looks like we're in business, then."


End file.
